Eat out for lunch at work? Save money by bringing drinks, snacks

If you're like me, you're easily seduced by the many lunch options around your office. I think I counted almost every cuisine available within five minutes of the Digital Journal office, including Indian, vegetarian, sushi, Italian, Thai and much much more.

Sometimes I'll give in and forego packing a lunch to get some stir-fry or maybe a corned-beef sandwich. But all those takeout lunches can hurt the wallet, so here's a quick little tip: instead of buying a combo or a large lunch, just buy one item and bring the rest from home.

What I mean is bring your own drinks and snacks. Buying a drink can cost as much as $2.50 and a snack, even a fruit, can set you back a $1 or $2. It's smarter to just buy, say, a falafel for $4, instead of getting a combo that could cost as much as $10. Depending where you go (Toronto is expensive).

I like to bring snacks such as fruit and nuts, or perhaps a hunk of cheese, because I notice I'll often get a smaller lunch when I know I got something to eat later on in the day.

The lunches I do order out now don't hit me too bad financially, since the most I'll try to pay is $5. I used to pay as much as $13, especially if I got sit-down at an all-breakfast place, for example. Foolish 2010 me! Learned my lesson the hard way (even though I'll never regret a Western omelette with a fresh smoothie).